SPQR

SPQR or S.P.Q.R., an initialism for (; ), is an emblematic phrase referring to the government of the Roman Republic. It appears on documents made public by an inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and on some Roman currency.

The full phrase appears in Roman political, legal and historical literature, such as the speeches of Cicero and the (Books from the Founding of the City) of Livy.

Translation

In Latin, Senātus is a nominative singular noun meaning "Senate". Populusque is compounded from the nominative noun Populus, "the People", and -que, an enclitic particle meaning "and" which connects the two nominative nouns. The last word, Rōmānus ("Roman"), is an adjective modifying the whole of Senātus Populusque: the "Roman Senate and People", taken as a whole. Thus, the phrase is translated literally as "The Roman Senate and People", or more freely as "The Senate and People of Rome".

An alternative interpretation of the acronym, provided by the dictionary IL – Vocabolario della lingua latina by Luigi Castiglioni and Scevola Mariotti, is ‘Senatus Populusque Quiritium Romanus’, that is: ‘the Roman Senate and People of the Quirites’; the Quirite (quiris) was, in fact, a citizen of ancient Rome who enjoyed full civil, political and even military rights.

Historical context

The title's date of establishment is unknown, but it first appears in inscriptions of the Late Republic, from around 80 BC onwards. Previously, the official name of the Roman state, as evidenced on coins, was simply ROMA. The abbreviation last appears on coins of Constantine the Great (ruled 312–337 AD), the first Roman emperor to support Christianity.

This signature continued in use under the Roman Empire. The emperors were considered the de jure representatives of the people even though the senātūs consulta, or decrees of the Senate, were made at the de facto pleasure of the emperor.

Populus Romanus in Roman literature is a phrase meaning the government of the People. When the Romans named governments of foreign states, they used populus in the singular or plural, such as populi Priscorum Latinorum, "the governments of the Old Latins". Romanus is the established adjective used to distinguish the Romans, as in civis Romanus, "Roman citizen".

The Roman people appear very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitas, maiestas, auctoritas, libertas populi Romani, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of the Roman people". They were a populus liber, "a free people". There was an exercitus, imperium, iudicia, honores, consules, voluntas of this same populus: "the army, rule, judgments, offices, consuls and will of the Roman people". They appear in early Latin as Popolus and Poplus, so the habit of thinking of themselves as free and sovereign was quite ingrained.

The Romans believed that all authority came from the people. It could be said that similar language seen in more modern political and social revolutions directly comes from this usage. People in this sense meant the whole government. The latter, however, was essentially divided into the aristocratic Senate, whose will was executed by the consuls and praetors, and the comitia centuriata, "committee of the centuries", whose will came to be safeguarded by the Tribunes.

One of the ways the emperor Commodus (180–192) paid for his donatives and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque...).

Medieval use

Beginning in 1184, the Commune of Rome struck coins in the name of the SENATVS P Q R. From 1414 until 1517, the Roman Senate struck coins with a shield inscribed SPQR.

Modern use Even in contemporary usage, SPQR is still used in the municipal coat of arms of Rome and as abbreviation for the comune of Rome in official documents. The Italians have long used a different and humorous expansion of this abbreviation, "Sono Pazzi Questi Romani" ().See, e.g. SPQR is also part of the coat of arms of the Capital Military Command of the Italian army (Italian: Comando Militare Capitale).

In business, in English-speaking countries, SPQR is sometimes (humorously) used to mean "Small Profits, Quick Returns", often by people who have studied Latin at school.

Civic references SPQ is sometimes used as an assertion of municipal pride and civic rights. The Italian town of Reggio Emilia, for instance, has SPQR in its coat of arms, standing for . There are historic usages of the deployment of the "SPQ" format in various other cities and towns: City Country SPQ Latin Where has it been used Image Alkmaar SPQA On the façade of the Waag building Amsterdam SPQA At the Stadsschouwburg theater on Leidseplein and some of the bridges Antwerp SPQA On Antwerp City Hall and other public buildings and schools Ascoli Piceno SPQA On the wall above the south loggia of the Piazza del Popolo Basel SPQB On the Webern-Brunnen in Steinenvorstadt Benevento SPQB On manhole covers Bologna SPQB On the Fountain of Neptune Bremen SPQB In Bremen City Hall. Bruges SPQB On its coat of arms Brussels SPQB (of the city) or (of the country) Repeatedly on the Palace of Justice, over the main stage of the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, and on the ceiling of the hemicycle of the Belgian Senate in the Palace of the Nation. Capua SPQC Catania SPQC On manhole covers Chicago SPQC Chicago On the George N. Leighton Cook County Criminal Courthouse Dublin SPQH On the City Hall, built in 1769 Florianópolis SPQF Franeker SPQF At the a gate on the Westerbolwerk and Academiestraat 16 Freising SPQF Above the door of the town hall Ghent SPQG On the opera house, theatre and some other major buildings, inscribed on a shield on coins struck in Ghent in 1583, during the Dutch Revolt Groningen SPQG Above the entrance of the Der Aa-kerk The Hague SPQH Above the stage in the Koninklijke Schouwburg Hamburg SPQH On a door in the city hall (Hamburg Rathaus) Hanover Haarlem SPQH On the façade of the town hall at the "Grote Markt" Hasselt SPQH HindeloopenSPQHSenatus Populusque HindelopiaOn a stone pole next to the Oosterdijk, a road between Hindeloopen and Workum. Istanbul SPQC Kortrijk SPQC On the City hall Kraków SPQC Senatus Populusque Cracoviensis Over the Waza Gate in Wawel Castle La Plata SPQR On a monument outside of the city's casco urbano Leeuwarden SPQL On the mayor's chain of office Leuven SPQL Senatus Populusque Leuvensis Over the painting of Jesus in the back reception room inside Leuven Town Hall Liverpool SPQL On various gold doors in St George's Hall City of London SPQL On historic variants of the City's coat of arms Lübeck SPQL On the Holstentor Lucerne Madrid SPQM On the , built in 1780 Milan SPQM The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V struck coins at Milan with the inscription . Modica SPQM On the coat of arms Molfetta SPQM On the coat of arms Naples SPQN Inscribed on a shield on coins struck during Masaniello's 1647 revoltItalian Coinage Medieval to Modern, The Collection of Ercole Gnecchi, coin 3683 Noto SPQN On the coat of arms and the façade of Noto Cathedral. Nuremberg SPQN On the Charles Bridge (one of the major bridges over river Pegnitz in the inner city) Oudenburg SPQO On its water pump next to the market square Olomouc SPQO On the coat of arms Palermo SPQP Penne, Abruzzo SPQP Pontecorvo SPQF Used as motto for municipal coat of arms Rieti SPQS On the coat of arms, present also in the modern composite Lazio coat-of-arms Rotterdam SPQR Mural in the Burgerzaal of Rotterdam City Hall Severn Beach SPQR On the crest of Pilning & Severn Beach Parish Council Seville SPQH On the historic banner of the city Siena SPQS On the base of a statue of the Capitoline Wolf Solothurn SPQS On the Cathedral of St Ursus and Victor Terracina SPQT Tivoli, Lazio SPQT Toruń SPQT Senatus Populusque Thorunensis On the City Hall Valencia SPQV In several places and buildings, including the Silk Exchange and the University of Valencia Historic Building. Verviers SPQV On the Grand Theatre Vienna SPQV Above the main entrance of the civic armoury (Bürgerliches Zeughaus) at Am Hof, with a dedication to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (Imperante Carolo VI. instauravit) Winschoten SPQW On the façade of the municipal office (stadhuis) of Oldambt WorkumSPQWOn a stone pole next to the Oosterdijk, a road between Hindeloopen and Workum.

Gallery

References

Bron en licentie